§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the implications of the 1972 ABM treaty for the continued operation of Fylingdales early warning station.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe United Kingdom is not a party to the anti-ballistic missile treaty, and we therefore have no locus to interpret it. We are, however, satisfied that the modernisation programme for the Fylingdales ballistic missile early warning system fully conforms with the obligations of the United States under the treaty.
§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what installations the Soviet Union has which serve a similar purpose to the Fylingdales early warning station.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe Soviet Union completed the deployment in the mid-1970s of a system of ballistic missile early warning radars at six locations around the periphery of the USSR. A further network of more modern, and technically advanced, early warning radars are being deployed at eight locations around the periphery of the USSR. The Soviet Union has recently accepted that a ninth station, at Krasnoyarsk, represents a violation of the 1972 ABM treaty and has announced its decision to dismantle it.